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                        <h1 class="title">Financial Futures</h1>
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<h4>If you'd like to learn more about futures trading in the financial  markets, we'll help you get started. Here you'll find a brief overview of their  history, which contracts are traded, and who trades them. You'll also find  links to some futures exchanges offering trading in financial futures, and a  list of some of the most popular products traded.</h4>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What Are Futures on Financial  Investments?</h2>
<p>Financial  futures are contracts based on underlying financial instruments. There are  futures trading opportunities in interest-rate sensitive instruments such as  stock futures, treasury bonds and forex. &nbsp;</p>
<p>  Like all  futures markets, a financial futures contract specifies a specific quantity of  the underlying financial instruments at a market-determined price. They can be  settled via cash or physical delivery, depending on the instrument. Supply and  demand factors determine pricing, and while common fundamentals often influence  many markets globally, there are also factors that are unique to each particular  market.</p>
<p>  Financial  futures were developed amid a rapidly growing trend toward globalization in the  world's investment and economic landscape starting in the early 1970s. They  were designed to meet new needs and risks that businesses, governments, and  individuals faced amid changing capital flows. Even though they have a shorter  history than agricultural futures, they now dominate the exchange-traded  product offerings. Today, the majority of activity in trading futures globally  is in contracts on financial investments, and futures exchanges are continually  on the lookout for new successes in this category.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Types of Financial Futures</h2>
<p>Financial  Futures fall into three broad categories &ndash; those tied to interest rate or  credit instruments, stocks or stock indexes, and global currencies, also known  as fx or forex, short for foreign exchange. Some of the most popular are  outlined briefly here.</p>
<h4>Interest Rate Products</h4>
<p>In simple terms, interest rates reflect the price of money. And like all  goods and services, interest rates are determined mainly by supply and demand.  A greater demand for money is likely to drive up the price of money, reflected  in the interest rate. Demand depends on factors such as the nation's economic  health, the level of government borrowing to support budgets, and societal  perception of inflation. Also, a nation's central bank can manipulate interest  rates &mdash; rates are adjusted upward in an attempt to slow the economy, while  rates are adjusted downward to act as a stimulus.</p>
<p>Interest  rate futures products encompass a range of short-term instruments, such as the  Federal funds rate (an overnight inter-bank lending rate), to long-term, such  as the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond. The relationship between short- and  long-term interest rates along a broad time continuum is called the yield  curve. Typically, the yield curve has an upward slope, with a longer period of  lending risk resulting in higher rates for long-term instruments.</p>
<p><strong>Some of  the most popular U.S. interest rate futures products and their features are  detailed below.</strong></p>
<h5>Eurodollar  Futures</h5>
<p>Eurodollars are U.S. dollars on deposit in commercial  banks outside the country, mainly in Europe. Eurodollars are commonly used to  settle international transactions and are not guaranteed by any government, but  rather, by the obligation of the bank holding them. Eurodollar futures track  the interest rate on 90-day Eurodollar deposits, and frequently top the list of  the world's most popular contract in futures trading.</p>
<p>  The CME Group's Eurodollar futures contract reflects  the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) for a three-month, $1 million  offshore deposit. The exchange lists a total of 40 quarterly futures contracts,  spanning 10 years, plus the four nearest serial (non-quarterly) months. This  contract is frequently used as a barometer for monetary policy implications,  with a cash yield that has a close tie to the Federal funds rate. Therefore,  economic statistics that may alter monetary policy have a big influence on  Eurodollar futures prices.</p>
<h5>U.S. Treasury Futures</h5>
<p>Because of the strength and stability of the U.S.  government, which has never defaulted on debt, U.S. Treasury instruments are  often described as &quot;safe-haven&quot; financial investments. Indeed, when  strong buying occurs in the Treasury futures market because of some type of  global or economic shock, it's often called a &quot;flight to quality&quot;  among the part of global investors.</p>
<ul>
  <ul>
    <li>
      <p><strong>U.S.  Treasury bonds</strong> are long-term debt issues of the U.S. government with  maturities of more than 10 years. U.S. Treasury notes are medium-term  obligations of the U.S. government with maturities that range from one to 10  years. Futures trading occurs on the 30-year bond and the two-, five- and  10-year Treasury notes. U.S. economic strength, inflation and monetary policy  are the major influences on the pricing of Treasury futures. Demand for money  in a strong and/or inflationary economy typically causes cash Treasury yields  (i.e. the interest rate paid) to rise and the price of the futures market to  fall, while conversely, a weak economy typically causes yields to fall while  futures prices rise.</p>
    </li>
    <li><strong>Treasury  bills</strong> are U.S. government debt issues with maturities of up to one year.  T-bills are the most widely issued government debt security and are auctioned  weekly and monthly. The T-bill interest rate is considered the risk-free rate  of variable return to investors. Because of their short durations, T-bills are  considered money-market instruments. Treasury bills do not pay periodic  interest. Instead, they are sold at a discount from their face value, and upon  maturity, the investor receives the face value. The difference between the face  value and the price at which it was sold is treated as interest.</li>
  </ul>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h5>Foreign  Government Debt Futures</h5>
<p>Similar to the U.S. government, most foreign  governments also issue short- and long-term debt and many have corresponding  futures markets listed at exchanges around the globe. Europe's leading futures  exchanges, Eurex and Euronext.liffe, offer many popular euro-based contracts  including euro-bund futures, which are long-term debt instruments, and  three-month euribor futures, which are short-term instruments. </p>
<p>  Prior to the start of the European Monetary Union in  1999, German government bonds were the recognized benchmark for the European  government bond market due to their liquidity, credit rating, a record of  stable German monetary policy and Japan's market size and depth. Japan had  been considered the &quot;safe haven&quot; of Eurozone issuers, but the recent  integration of Europe's markets with the EMU has created new debt instruments  and market dynamics.</p>
<h5>Swap Futures</h5>
<p>Swaps are generally defined as agreements between two  parties to exchange periodic interest payments. They have become an interest  rate benchmark and are an innovative means for those seeking ways to transfer  financial risk. Swap futures are traded at the CME Group and are designed to  provide investors involved in U.S. dollar-denominated swaps with new trading  and hedging opportunities. Investors can trade five-year, seven-year, 10-year,  and 30-year swap futures contracts.</p>
<h5>Forex Futures</h5>
<p>When it comes to international investing, investment  managers, corporations and private investors trade currency futures, also known  as foreign exchange, forex or simply FX, to manage the risks and capture  potential opportunities associated with forex rate fluctuations.</p>
<p>  Trading a nation's currency doesn't occur in a vacuum;  you don't actually trade one currency but a pair based on its relationship to  another currency. A number of factors go into determining the  &quot;strength&quot; or &quot;weakness&quot; of a currency vs. another, but it  usually comes down to comparing one nation's economy to another's. Generally,  expanding economies have stronger currencies while recessionary economies have  weaker currencies.</p>
<p>  Factors influencing a currency's value include gross  domestic product (GDP) as well as the trade balance between countries. The  current account balance and money flows from one country to another reflect a  currency's supply and demand, so futures traders are always watching each  country's trade balance to see changes in surpluses/deficits. Other factors  influencing currency valuations include fiscal and monetary policies, including  interest rates on government-issued securities, and political leadership.</p>
<p>  The CME Group is the leader for forex futures trading  in the United States, and offers a variety of contracts with pricing based on a  nation's respective currency value vs. the U.S. dollar. Traders can also access  cross-rate futures contracts, which allow a value comparison of a currency  against another currency besides the U.S. dollar. For example, you can trade  futures on the Australian dollar vs. the Canadian dollar, or British pound vs.  the Japanese yen.</p>
<h5>Stock Futures</h5>
<p>Some of  the most popular futures contracts are related to the equity markets. Most  major economies with a vibrant stock market also have a futures contract on a  stock index that represents that particular economy. For example, in the United  States, futures contracts are available on the Dow Jones Industrial Average as  well as the broader Standard &amp; Poor's 500 Index and the technology-oriented  Nasdaq-100 Index. Other countries have similar contracts, such as the FTSE-100  in the United Kingdom, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and the CAC 40 in France. The  Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 covers selected stocks in the euro economy.</p>
<p>  Fundamental  factors influencing stock markets encompass factors affecting companies'  earnings potential, such as news about the global and domestic economy, inflation,  currency values, politics and interest rates.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Index Futures</h4>
<p>Stock  index futures contracts were introduced in the United States in 1982, nine  years after listed options investing began at the Chicago Board Options  Exchange, the securities offshoot of the Chicago Board of Trade. Interestingly,  the CBOT had come up with the idea of futures on stocks as a way to diversify  its product line, although futures on individual stocks were many more years in  coming.</p>
<p>  The Kansas  City Board of Trade launched the first stock index futures contract on the  Value Line in February 1982, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange &nbsp;followed with its S&amp;P 500 Index contract a  few months later. The S&amp;P contract quickly became the market leader and  continues to dominate U.S. stock index futures trading today. A number of stock  index futures and options contracts are now available to futures traders,  covering all areas of the market.</p>
<p><strong>The most popular major index futures  contracts are listed below.</strong></p>
<h5>Standard &amp; Poor's  500&reg; Index</h5>
<p>The  S&amp;P 500 Index is a market value-weighted index of 500 large-capitalization  stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange and  Nasdaq National Market System. Because the S&amp;P is capitalization-weighted,  those stocks with the most shares outstanding at the highest prices will have  the most influence on the index movement. The S&amp;P 500 index, introduced in  1957, is known as the investment industry's standard for measuring portfolio  performance and is licensed by McGraw-Hill Companies Ltd.</p>
<p>  The  Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced S&amp;P 500 futures in 1982, and they  originally traded at $500 times the cash index. As the market began to surge  during the 1990s, the initial margin became too costly for many futures  traders. In response, the CME decided to cut the contract's value to $250 times  the index. The CME went even further to attract individual investors.</p>
<p>  In 1997,  the CME launched an even smaller version of its popular S&amp;P 500 futures  contract, which was felt to be more attractively sized for individual traders.  The E-mini S&amp;P 500 futures are priced at one-fifth the size of the big  contract at $50 times the index, with a lower initial margin. But the real  innovation of the new &quot;mini&quot; futures was the fact that they traded on  an electronic platform, and not in open-outcry pits. CME officials decided  trading would take place entirely on a trade-matching computer, giving traders  direct access to the market and not an order-handler. Electronic trading would  no longer be used only for after-hours trading or as a supplement to the  primary pit contract. It became the mainstream market for the E-mini contracts.  And, as long as trading was all computer-based, the CME decided to keep the  market open nearly 24 hours a day. In just a year after its launch, the E-mini  S&amp;P futures were the third most active stock index contract in the country,  and today, boast the strongest volume of any U.S. stock index product. Because  of its strong liquidity, what started out as mainly a product for small  speculators, day-traders and other retail investors is now also an  institutional favorite.</p>
<h5>Nasdaq-100&reg;  Index</h5>
<p>The  Nasdaq-100 Index is a modified market-capitalization index and includes the top  100 non-financial stocks (both domestic and foreign) listed on the Nasdaq Stock  Market. Stocks such as Microsoft, Intel, eBay, Dell, Cisco, etc. dominate the  index, so it's frequently associated with the technology sector of stock  investing.<br />
  Futures on  the Nasdaq-100 began trading in 1996 with a value of $100 times the index. Like  the S&amp;P 500 Index, the value of the Nasdaq-100 rose dramatically during the  1990s, and the CME launched a mini-sized electronic contract. E-mini Nasdaq-100  futures are priced at $20 times the index.</p>
<p>  Both  E-mini S&amp;P 500 and E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures were smashing successes.  Volume quickly grew in both to overtake their larger futures benchmarks and  paved the way for many other mini-sized futures products at the CME and other  exchanges. </p>
<h5>Dow Jones  Industrial Average</h5>
<p>The Dow  Jones Industrial Average is an index of 30 large capitalization &quot;blue  chip&quot; stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange, accounting for about  20 percent of the market value of all U.S. equities. The index, first published  in 1896, is the most widely quoted market indicator in newspapers, radio,  television and electronic media throughout the world. Futures on the DJIA began  trading at the Chicago Board of Trade in 1997 after heated competition between  the Chicago exchanges for the rights to trade futures and options on products  owned by Dow Jones &amp; Co., which had remained reluctant to allow its name to  be used in trading.<br />
  The CBOT  offers three different DJIA futures contracts with sizes tailored to different  market participant needs. Its &quot;Big&quot; DJIA futures contract has a value  of $25 times the average, while its standard DJIA futures contract is $10 times  the average. The CBOT also offers an all-electronic, mini-sized DJIA futures  valued at $5 times the average for smaller investors.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Single Stock Futures </h4>
<p>Single-stock  futures, also known as security futures, began trading in 2002 after many years  of regulatory debate. The so-called Johnson-Shad Accord in the early 1980s had  set the ground rules for stock index futures, but futures on individual stocks  and narrow-based stock indexes were not allowed to trade. They remained banned  until Congress opened the door with passage of the Commodity Futures  Modernization Act of 2000.</p>
<p>  The  legislation gave the green light to single-stock futures, and futures trading  on individual stocks debuted in November 2002. In the United States, online futures  trading in single-stock futures occur at OneChicago, LLC, with each futures  contract represents 100 shares of the underlying stock. Single-stock futures  offer many potential advantages over stock investing, such as greater leverage,  an easier ability to take a short position, and positive tax benefits.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Volatility Futures</h4>
<p>  The CBOE  Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) launched trading in VIX futures in March 2004. VIX  futures are based on the CBOE Volatility Index, which was first introduced in  1993 and became known as a benchmark of stock market sentiment among investors.  Derived from real-time S&amp;P 500 Index option prices, the CBOE states the VIX  is designed to reflect investors' consensus view of expected stock market  volatility over the next 30 days.</p>
<p>  Other CFE  volatility futures products include Russell 2000 Volatility Index Futures and  DJIA Volatility Index Futures. </p>
<p>  The CFE  also offers a realized variance futures contracts. S&amp;P 500 three-month  Variance Futures are based on the realized variance of the Standard &amp;  Poor's 500 Stock Index over a three-month period, while S&amp;P 12-month  Variance Futures are based on the realized variance of the S&amp;P 500 Stock  Index over a 12-month period.&nbsp; </p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Who Participates in Financial  Futures Markets?</h2>
<p>As in all  futures trading, there are two basic types of participants in financial futures  markets &mdash; hedgers and speculators. Hedgers want to reduce and manage price  risk, while speculators hope to make a profit by assuming market risk.</p>
<p>  Hedgers in  financial futures include institutions such as banks and insurance companies,  large multinational corporations, pension plans, and mutual funds. Despite  their name, &quot;hedge funds&quot; actually often act as speculators in the marketplace.  They utilize an array of complicated and varied strategies that seek to not  only hedge against other cash investments held by their investors, but also to  enhance returns through speculative positions.</p>
<p>  As an  example of a hedger in the financial futures markets, put yourself in the  position of a mutual fund manager running an S&amp;P 500 Index fund that  contains individual stocks that comprise the S&amp;P 500 Index. You are worried  that a shaky U.S. economy and incidents of global terrorism could negatively  impact the index and your returns, yet you can't disrupt your stock holdings.  However, you could take a short position in S&amp;P 500 Index futures, and if  the stock prices fall, you could then buy back the index futures at a lower  price. That would allow you to offset losses to the stock holdings in your  fund. Of course, if your worries were unfounded and the stock prices rose,  you'd lose money on the futures transaction. But, the idea is to use futures as  a hedge to minimize your potential risk.</p>
<p>  While speculators  can include large institutions and funds, many are individual traders who  provide valuable liquidity to the marketplace. An individual trader who commits  his or her own capital to act as speculator on a particular exchange provide  market liquidity by constantly buying and selling throughout the trading  session and are viewed as important participants in the market by shouldering  risk. While the term local has been used to designate those trading in the  open-outcry markets, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission defines this new  breed of electronic traders &quot;E-locals,&quot; but they are often more  simply known as independent traders.<br />
  A  speculative trader typically takes a position in the futures markets&mdash;without  any underlying cash stock market position&mdash;with the hope of making a profit. In  the example above, the speculator may take the other side of the portfolio  manager's trade, thinking it's unlikely a terrorist incident will soon strike  and that stock prices will hold up.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>History of Financial Futures</h2>
<p>The  history of established futures markets dates back to the 1800s, but up until  the early 1970s, all futures markets were referred to as commodities markets  because the products traded were mainly agricultural. However, futures on  financial products were quickly and enthusiastically embraced. They now  dominate trading activity, accounting for about 75 percent of all derivatives  trading volume in the world.</p>
<p>  The CME  Group claims credit for the creation of financial futures with the launch of  seven foreign currency futures contracts in 1972. According to the CME, they  were introduced in response to the breakdown of the Bretton Woods Agreement,  which had governed international currency exchange-rate policy since the end of  World War II.</p>
<p>  It was  during the forex market turmoil leading up to the initial revision of the U.S.  dollar &quot;gold peg&quot; that Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus of CME, with  the endorsement of Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman, championed the  idea of foreign exchange futures contracts. On May 16, 1972, the CME's  International Monetary Market opened for business, listing seven foreign  currency futures contracts: British pound, Canadian dollar, Deutsche mark,  French franc, Japanese yen, Mexican peso and Swiss franc.</p>
<p>  Also  during the 1970s, the challenges of inflation and volatile interest rate  fluctuations spawned the development of futures contracts tied to interest  rates.<br />
  In 1975,  the Chicago Board of Trade launched its first financial futures contract on  Government National Mortgage Association mortgage-backed certificates, or  GNMAs. In 1977, the CBOT introduced trading in U.S. Treasury bond futures and a  suite of other Treasury futures products followed.</p>
<p>  In 1981,  the CME launched Eurodollar futures, which had an innovative feature that paved  the way for even more growth in financial contracts to come. Eurodollar futures  were the first futures contracts that did not require delivery of an underlying  instrument, but were settled in cash. The cash-settlement innovation  safeguarded their usefulness to hedgers and opened the door for new types of  contracts in which a delivery option would be impossible or prohibitively  expensive.</p>
<p>  The  cash-delivery feature also helped fuel the creation of index futures. First  came the Kansas City Board of Trade's launch of the Value Line Index in 1982,  then the same year the CME launched the Standard &amp; Poor's 500 Index  contract.</p>
<p>  In the  1990s, more financial futures products came to the marketplace and the advent  of online futures trading caused a further explosion in their popularity.  Mini-sized, all-electronic versions of stock index futures contracts charged  onto the scene in the late 1990s and were quickly embraced. </p>
<p>  Today,  volume in the E-mini S&amp;P 500 Index futures contract at the Chicago  Mercantile Exchange often tops a million contracts per day, surpassing the  larger and older benchmark S&amp;P 500 futures contract that spawned it.  Exchanges continue to launch new financial futures &nbsp;products to meet ever-changing investor needs.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h2>What Contracts Can I  Trade?</h2>
<p>  A wide variety of financial futures markets&mdash;including index futures,  interest rate futures, forex futures, event futures and single&ndash;stock  futures&ndash;are trading on exchanges around the world. The possibilities are  endless, and new contracts are continually being introduced.</p>
<p>  U.S. exchanges that offer futures trading in financial investments  follow, along with their corresponding contract listings.</p>
<div class="well">
<p>  These lists are not exhaustive because some of these futures markets  have limited liquidity and therefore can be more challenging to trade.  Therefore, it is recommended you contact your futures broker and learn more  before deciding to trade these markets.</p>
<ul class="list_mixed">
<li class="list_check">Chicago Board of Trade</li>
<li class="list_check">CBOE Futures Exchange</li>
<li class="list_check">World Markets Capital Mercantile Exchange</li>
<li class="list_check">Chicago Mercantile Exchange</li>
<li class="list_check">Kansas City Board of Trade</li>
<li class="list_check">US ICE Futures</li>
<li class="list_check">OneChicago, LLC</li>
</ul>
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